Coming Home
by CosmicalMadison
Summary: After a drunken night on the town, Sam finds herself pregnant with Jack's baby. How will he react to the news?
1. Revelations

**Title:** Coming Home**  
Rating:** T**  
Pairings:** Sam/Jack**  
Genre:** Romance/Some Angst**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Stargate SG-1 or anything related to it, minus my original plots and characters.**  
Summary:** After a drunken night on the town, Sam finds herself pregnant with Jack's baby. How will he react to the news?**  
Author's Note:** I'm very sorry to anyone who was reading this, but I've decided to discontinue it. I'm not really in the Stargate fandom anymore, so it's doubtful that it will be added to any more than the two chapters already here. Again, I'm sorry, but feel free to read what's here, even though it's not much.

* * *

**Chapter One: Revelations**

Major Samantha Carter could not have imagined making a worse mistake in her entire life.

She had worked with the leader of SG-1, Colonel Jack O'Neill, for several years, and they had always been close friends. Of course, almost since the beginning there had been the unknown desire between the two of them to expand their relationship into something a little more intimate, but romance was forbidden giving their differing ranks within the Stargate Program.

Sam and Jack had always followed those regulations to the letter, but there had been one little incident a few weeks ago–

Wait a minute. Who was she trying to kid? A _little_ incident? Of course it was much more serious than that.

It had been one Friday night about a month ago when she and Jack had gone out to dinner to celebrate SG-1's 100th off-world mission. Daniel had stayed home because he wasn't feeling well and Teal'c had opted out because he was overdue for a Kal-No-Ream session. Sam and Jack had eaten, talked, joked, laughed, and toasted to a bright future for the Stargate Program.

She was ashamed to admit it, but their drinking had eventually gotten just a little out of hand. Jack had a way of putting her at ease so much that she hardly paid attention to how much alcohol she was putting into her body. Well, eventually Sam had come to herself long enough to realize she was a little out of it, and asked Jack to take her home.

He had agreed, but once they were in his truck he had asked if Sam would rather go to his house instead. Not thinking, she had agreed, and they had sat watching television for a while. Suddenly, Jack had looked over at her with a lopsided, drunken grin and planted his lips on hers. She had been surprised at first, of course, but soon got over it. In her state, she was unable to consider the ramifications that her actions might cause. Soon, without her hardly knowing it, Sam had been in bed with her commanding officer. She knew now that she certainly would never have done such a thing had she been in her right mind.

The next day Sam had woken up in her own bed with a severe hangover, remembering just enough to know what she had done the night before. She had gone back to work the next week, naturally ashamed of what she had done, but not thinking very much of it. Of course, she couldn't tell anyone at Stargate Command, even the rest of her teammates, because it was so against regulations. Jack also knew that it was wrong, and they had never spoken about it after that night. They had gone back to working as fellow officers on the same team like nothing had ever happened.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

About two weeks after the episode, Sam had started to feel ill. She would wake up in the morning feeling nauseous and would often vomit al least once before leaving for work. At first she figured it was just the flu that had been going around. She would refuse to consider the fact that it could be something else. But after these fits continued for another week, she eventually had to wonder.

Which was what brought her to where she was now: standing in front of the bathroom mirror, alone in her house, a trembling hand covering the readout on the pregnancy test she had not yet revealed to herself. _Calm down,_ she told herself. _This is only a precaution. You know that it couldn't turn out positive, so why are you so nervous?_

But even as Sam chastised herself, she knew deep down that it _was_ possible. She and Jack had been so wrapped up in what they were doing, minds and logic numbed by the alcohol they had consumed earlier, that the thought of using protection had not even entered their minds. How she wished it had now! _Wait a minute! I'm thinking like I already know that I'm…_ She gulped, barely able to even think the word. _…pregnant._

_All right,_ Sam told herself. _Either way, I've got to look at this thing. Regardless of what it says, it's not going to go away and I'll never know if I don't just look already._

Taking a deep and, she hoped, calming breath, she turned the display on the test face up and slowly moved her shaking hand away from it. And as her eyes caught sight of the answer, Sam could almost hear the traces of normalcy left in her life shatter as her answer blurred with the tears that suddenly filled her eyes.

Two days later, her fellow members of SG-1 met Sam in a briefing room deep inside Cheyenne Mountain like usual. Except that today, unlike usual, she was twenty minutes late.

"Carter!" Jack said when saw her approaching. "You're—" He looked at his wristwatch. "—twenty-five minutes late."

Any other day, she would have teased him about his watch being off, but today it was all she could do to crack a sullen smile. "I'm sorry, sir," she said. "I was sick over the weekend, forgot to set my alarm, and only woke up half an hour ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Daniel said, friendly concern shining through his voice. "You're better now, though?" Jack cocked his head curiously, as if in agreement to the question, and Teal'c just stood there silently as usual.

Sam nodded, and suddenly looked around the briefing room, noticing for the first time that someone was missing. "Where's General Hammond?" she asked.

"Sick," Jack told her, "which means…"

"Our mission for today has been scrubbed," Sam finished for him. She couldn't say that that disappointed her; she had been feeling nauseous all morning and the sensation showed no sign of letting up anytime soon. It would be better to lounge around in her lab all day feeling sorry for herself than being ill on another planet and doing who knew what.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Jack cried. "We have a winner!"

"O'Neill," Teal'c inquired, "does that not leave us on base for the remainder of the day with nothing to do?"

"Ah," said Jack, "that, my friend is where you'd be wrong." Here he switched into a singsong voice and feigned excitement. "We have reports to file from last weeks mission to P4X885!"

"Oh, boy," Daniel quipped, "slime world. I can hardly wait."

Sam almost smiled. Almost. Yes, last week's mission had definitely been a little more…_unique_ than most.

"Well, kids, you'd better get moving," Jack instructed, ushering the three of them toward the door. "We've got lots of work to do." He glanced at his watch for a moment, then back up at them. "We'll rendezvous in the commissary at 1300 hours. Until then, my brave comrades." He threw the rest of his team a mock salute as they began to dismally troop toward their offices and mission reports waiting to be written.

Sam hung back in the briefing room, hoping to catch Jack alone. When her commanding officer started to follow the others, she called hesitantly, "Um, Colonel…can I talk to you for a minute, sir?" As Daniel and Teal'c turned back to look as her curiously, Sam tried to think of a polite way to lose them. "Alone, please?"

"Sure thing," Daniel said, but he raised a questioning eyebrow at her before turning to head for his office, Teal'c following obediently behind.

"So, what's happenin', Carter?" Jack asked as he reentered the room and plopped into a chair at the briefing table.

Sam quietly closed the door before seating herself across from the Colonel. She opened her mouth to speak – but suddenly found that she couldn't. Was this really such a good idea? Maybe she wasn't quite ready to tell him what had happened.

"Carter?" he asked, apparently seeing her discomfort. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, sire." Of course she wasn't fine! At long last, Sam made a decision. This man was the father of her child and he deserved to know that. "Listen, sir, there's something we really need to talk about."

Jack cocked his head to one side but didn't say anything, inviting her to continue.

Sam suddenly found herself stalling. "Well, sir…ah, there's something really important that I have to tell you." _What's this?_ she demanded of herself. _I made the decision to tell him, and I'm going to do it right now!_ "Well, sir, I guess there's no easy way to say this, but…" She had to take the plunge now, before she backed out of it for real. "I'm pregnant, Jack."

His eyebrows raised, but a several long moments he said nothing. Then, only, "Is that so?" Apparently her revelation had surprised him enough that Sam's superior officer didn't notice her accidental breach of etiquette in calling him by his first name. "Congratulations," he said finally. "Who's the father?"

That made her angry. Surely he wasn't – Sam dared not call him stupid – _naïve_ enough to not recall what he had done with her such a short time ago. "Jack!" She couldn't bear to call him "Colonel" or even "sir" given the current situation and what he had just said to her. "Don't you remember the night of our one-hundredth mission? We went out, had too many drinks, then went back to your house and…_You_ are my baby's father, Jack."

_That_ certainly caught him off guard. Jack's mouth worked for a full minute, as if he were so dumbfounded that he couldn't string three words together to form a sentence. Finally, he said, "O course I remember, Carter, but…You're sure?"

That was when Sam really exploded. How could he not believe her? Why would she lie about something like this? Did he think she slept around or something? She was close friends with Jack, and if she had had a boyfriend or anything of the sort, she would have told him. "Of course I'm sure! We were drunk, made the mistake of getting into bed together, and I ended up pregnant with your child." She was aware of a sarcastic twang entering her voice, but she didn't care. "I can assure you that I haven't 'done the deed' since that night." Sam glared at her superior officer, silently daring him to challenge her again.

And that was when the Blank Look set in on his face, the one full of shock and confusion that clearly said, "I'm lost, and I have no idea what to do." And the one Jack O'Neill got so rarely that it worried his teammates when he did. But this time Sam felt no pity for him. If he wasn't going to trust her, believe what she told him, then she wasn't about to go easy on him.

When at last Jack spoke again, his voice sounded different. It was quiet, hollow, and self-conscious, definitely not the way Colonel O'Neill normally spoke. Slowly, he said, "Gee, I'm really sorry about that, Carter." He looked at his watch, obviously avoiding meeting her eyes. "I've gotta go. I'll get back to you on that." And that he promptly stood and strode quickly away."

Staring at his retreating back, Sam's only thought was, _That could have gone so much better._

Sam could think of only one other person she wanted to talk to right now, someone who would really listen to her and not flee the room upon hearing her surprising news: her best friend on base – and probably off base as well – the one and only Dr. Janet Fraiser.

As she headed for the infirmary, Sam mentally went over her encounter with Jack and sighed. She doubted the possibility that it could have gone worse.

In Sam's eyes, she had done everything wrong. She had made a promise to herself to be straightforward with Jack, to answer any questions he might have, and above all to remain calm. She had done all right answering his questions, she supposed, but had utterly failed at her other two missions. Initially, she had shied away from telling Jack the news and then she had totally blown up at his disbelief and denial, without even a thought as to how she would have felt had the situation been reversed.

Of course, Sam hadn't liked the way he had talked to her, suggesting that she had lied about not having sex with anyone since their meeting a month ago, but he still didn't deserve the way she had treated him. She would apologize to him later, before they left home for the night, and after both of them had had a change to calm down a bit and were ready to talk rationally.

After a few more moments, Sam reached the infirmary. Seeing Janet nowhere, she stepped to a desk occupied by a young female assistant and asked, "Could you please tell me where Dr. Fraiser is?"

The assistant, seeing that Sam wasn't injured or severely ill, squinted at her nameplate before replying, "I'm sorry, Major Carter, Dr. Fraiser isn't here right now, but if you come back later I can – "

At that moment, the major heard a door swing open and closed behind her. "Sam!" a voice exalted, and she turned at the sound of her name to see Janet moving toward her. In spite of herself, Sam couldn't help but smile at this friend who – except in dire situations – was always so cheerful.

As the doctor stopped in front of her, Sam stepped forward to her a friendly embrace. Moving back, Sam said, "It's great to see you again, Janet."

"And you, too, Sam; it's been awhile." Janet rested her hands on her hips casually before continuing. "So, what brings you to the infirmary today? Everything's well, I hope."

"Yeah, mostly," Sam replied absently, as she glanced around the room to be sure no one was listening. She was ashamed of herself for keeping her pregnancy such a big secret, but she just wasn't ready to have to whole base know about it. Sam turned back to her friend and asked softly, "Is there someplace private we can talk?"

Janet looked at her curiously, much as Daniel had done when Sam had asked to speak to Jack, but the doctor turned to the assistant behind the desk and said, "Kirstin, reserve Room Q3 for Major Carter and myself, please."

"Right away, Doctor," the assistant replied. She tapped a few keys on her computer before turning back to say, "There you are, ma'am."

Janet thanked her before leading Sam down to a corridor where the half dozen on-base quarantine rooms were located. They entered the second one on the right, and Janet closed and latched the door behind them before seating herself on a chair. Sam sat on the bed.

The doctor swiveled her chair to face her friend, then asked, "So, Sam, what's so important that you couldn't tell me until we were in here?" There was curiosity on her face, and she disguised the hint of a smile, as if she thought this may all be some big joke.

"Well, Janet," Sam began, more confident now that she was talking to her best friend instead of the leader of her team and father of her child, "I've got some big news that I'd like to share with you."

"And?" Janet asked, cutting right to the point.

Sam had to smile at her friend's directness, at the same time hoping that it would be somewhat easier to spill the news for the second time. She decided that it would probably be best if she was just straightforward with it and didn't beat around the bush like she had with Jack. "I'm pregnant, Janet."

Of course, the announcement surprised her friend just as much as it had the colonel. Janet pondered the news for moment before replying, "Is that so, Sam? I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

Sam sighed. "I don't. My baby's father is Colonel Jack O'Neill."

The doctor's eyebrows shot up upon hearing that, and when she spoke she sounded like someone who had been left out on a secret. "So you two are–"

"No," Sam told her, "and that's the problem."

Janet looked confused, and her voice mirrored her face. "If you aren't, than how—"

Sam tried to wave away the question with her hand. "It's a long story that involved lots of poor decisions and large amounts of alcohol, and I just don't want to talk about it right now."

Now that Sam had explained part of the situation, Janet sat back in her chair and blew out a low whistle. "That's not good, Sam," she said finally. "Does he know?"

"Yeah," she replied. "He was the first one I told."

"And you should have," Janet said. She nodded, as if agreeing with herself. Voice bursting with curiosity, she asked, "What did he say?"

"Oh, Janet," Sam wailed. "He was horrified."

"Well," the doctor replied matter-of-factly, "Wouldn't you have been, have your rolls been reversed."

Sam nodded miserably. "Yeah, I guess, but at first he didn't even _believe_ me when I told him that he was the father of my child! Can you believe that?"

Janet nodded. "I can see how he would initially be in denial, yes."

Sam rolled her eyes. "At times you are far too analytical, you know that?"

"That's my job, Sammy," her friend replied, eyes twinkling.

"Right."

"So," Janet continued. "What are you going to do?"

Sam sighed. "I don't really know. Jack said he would talk to me later, and a lot hinges on what he decides, whether he's going to help me out or not."

"Sam," Janet said softly, half reprimand and half comforting, "Jack's a good man, and he's not just going to abandon you. Remember, this is his baby too."

"I know, but I still worry." Sam sighed as she let her thoughts drift, wishing she could right this mess by simply thinking it. "You know, I really wish this wasn't happening. I had hoped that when I started a family, I would be in a better situation than this and that my first child would be intentional." She continued, thinking out loud. "Sometimes I think that it would be easiest just to get an abortion and have it done with."

"Sam!" Janet's voice cut through the air as sharply as any knife. Startled, Sam looked up at her friend. The doctor stood there blinking for a moment, surprise evident on her face as if she hadn't intended to let loose with that outburst. "I'm sorry, Sam," she said finally. "I don't know what came over me."

But Sam knew that that wasn't true. Janet had always been pro-life, and Sam knew that, but this reaction had seemed much more genuine than an expression of her opinion. And looking at her friend, she could see that Janet whole demeanor had changed. Suddenly she seemed ill at ease, and her eyes had turned dark and stormy. "Janet?" Sam asked in concern. "Are you all right?"

Without answering, the doctor stood and turned her back to Sam, putting a hand on her face. Sam wondered what had just happened. A moment ago, Janet had been just fine. Just mentioning the word abortion was usually enough to get the doctor up on her soapbox, but it had never made her somber and silent like this before.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Janet said at last, voice muffled through her hand. "I just…" Her voice trailed off as she turned back to face her friend, and Sam was shocked to see tears on Janet's face as she moved her hand back to her side.

Sam's concern flared up several more notches, and she asked, "Janet, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Sam," she said, tears brimming in her voice. "I need to tell you something, too."

Sam wondered what it could possibly be. She dismissed from her mind a dozen less than pleasant possibilities before saying, "You can tell me anything, Janet. You know that."

A sad smiled flitted over the doctor's face as returned to her seat. "I hope so, but this is something very personal that not many people know."

Sam listened carefully, still wondering what this revelation would hold.

"You know that I've always hated the very thought of having an abortion, but my feelings aren't for just the obvious reasons. You see, I have a very personal connection to the issue, and you're probably wondering about my reaction just now. I'm sorry if I startled you, and I guess I surprised myself too, but I don't want to see you make my same mistakes."

Things were starting to fall into place in Sam's mind. "You mean – "

But Janet cut her off. "Please let me finish. As I was saying, I have a closer connection to this abortion thing than a lot of people do. You see, I…" She hesitated, then apparently decided to just get it over with. "I had an abortion once, Sam, and I wouldn't want you to have to go through that too."

Sam couldn't control her surprise. "You _what?_"

Janet shrugged as if she couldn't deny it. "Yes, I had an abortion a long time ago, when I was a junior in high school." She sighed. "My boyfriend and I did a lot of things we shouldn't have, and we could only be lucky for so long. Eventually I found out that I was pregnant. When I told him, he dumped me immediately. I never heard from him again. Anyway, I was only seventeen years old; I knew I couldn't handle raising a baby and my parents agreed. They paid for the procedure and it was done in a couple of days, ease, safe, and no strings attached. Yeah right." Sam was surprised by the sudden bitterness in her friend's voice, but more so by the sorrow that followed it. With conviction, Janet said, "What I wouldn't give to have that baby back now. Sometimes I don't know how I managed to go through with it, why I couldn't see how wrong it was." She shook her had as if not knowing what else to say.

Sam knew what that felt like. At the moment, her mind throbbed with curiosity. Why had they never talked about this before? She could understand how it wasn't something Janet liked to talk about, but what a think for a best friend not to know! "Well…" Sam had no idea what to say.

"I'm sorry," Janet apologized yet again. "I guess you're wondering why I never told you before, but like I said, it's a thing I really regret doing and don't like to share with people. I hope you understand."

"It's all right," Sam said, but she wasn't really sure. Was it okay? This sudden revelation made her wonder how well she really knew Janet. What else might her friend be hiding from her? She tried to dismiss that thought though, and decided to think about it later. There was no sense in getting into an argument now and making Janet feel worse than she already did. "I understand why that's something you wouldn't want to share with a lot of people."

The doctor looked relieved. "Good. But anyway," she continued, obviously trying to lighten up and change the subject, "I just don't want you to make a hasty decision that you're going to regret. Friend to friend, please promise me that you and Jack will talk long and hard before you decide anything, okay?"

"Okay, Janet," Sam said. "I promise." And of course she meant it. Sam had never really considered killing her baby; it had just been a split-second consideration that she had let slip past her lips before fully contemplating it. But she would have to mull over later what she had learned from that little mistake.

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So what did you think? It's my first Stargate story so please go easy on me with your reviewing.

And, oh, one more thing. I'd be ever so grateful if someone could tell me what season this story would be set it. It would have to be shortly after the 100th mission/episode, Janet's still alive, the team is still the original four… And also if I have Sam's rank wrong, tell me that too. Thanks in advance to any kind souls who are willing to help me.


	2. Worries

**Title:** Coming Home**  
Author:** CosmicalMadison**  
Rating:** T**  
Pairing:** Sam/Jack**  
Summary:** After a drunken night on the town, Sam finds herself pregnant with Jack's baby. How will be react? What will happen next?**  
A/N:** (This is pretty long, so please just bear with me or skip right to the story.) So, I've finally updated my most popular story. I know I promised to have more chapters up soon after posting Chapter 1 several months ago dodges flying tomatoes, but an evil corrupted file caused me to lose parts of Chapters 2 and 3 and I didn't get around to rewriting them until now. Actually, I've been avoiding it for a while because I feel like I'm "out of the groove" and I'm afraid the stuff I add to this story now might not jive very well with what's already here. For instance, I just wrote the first four paragraphs of this chapter and are not sure that they fit with the rest of that section. Tell me if they don't. Anyway, enough of my excuses and complaining. Please read, enjoy, and tell me what you think. Also if anything is confusing or there might be a part where I forgot to add in something, just let me know and I'll fix it right up. (Thanks for your patience, as this author's note is now officially over.)

* * *

**Chapter Two: Worries**

Jack O'Neill needed to get some air. Exiting the elevator on the surface level, he nodded to the two airmen stationed near the door and walked outside. Moving to the parking lot, he quickly found his truck and plunked down on the curb beside it, burying his head in his hands.

That was all too much, too fast. He didn't know what to think. Samantha Carter, a subordinate officer and a member of his team was going to have his child just because of one stupid night they had spent together. He wanted to be angry at her, blame her even, but knew that it was just as much his fault as hers, if not more. Either of them could have stopped it at any time, but they had chosen not to.

What kind of person must she think him, anyway? What kind of father was he? Because of Jack's own irresponsibility his only other child had ended up dead. Besides that, was he really ready to have another kid? He had a great job, friends, a life...no, this definitely wasn't the greatest time for another baby, especially given the circumstances.

And what about Sam herself? Did he really want to settle down and spend the rest of his life with her, raise their kid? He certainly hadn't planned it that way.

Of course he had wanted her that night, but now he wasn't so sure. It seemed like forever that he and Sam had admired one another from afar, each always knowing that the other was strictly off limits, but when they had finally touched it had felt so right. He had wanted so badly to tell her the feelings he had for her, how he wanted to be with her. He had wanted to tell her how one or both of them could leave the Air Force to allow their love to blossom, how _easy_ it would be... But the physical sensations of being with her had won out and these things had remained unsaid.

In the morning though, after he brought her home, he had known it was all wrong. Giddy on the drug that filled his system the night before, he hadn't been thinking clearly. Jack knew he couldn't deny his feelings for his subordinate, but that didn't mean he had to act on them. Of course he and Sam couldn't have a romantic relationship. The Stargate Program was everything to them, and if they were caught they would certainly be discharged.

But he still regretted not sharing his thoughts with her. They both knew that they couldn't continue this thing, but it still hurt that Sam seemed unwilling to even talk about what had happened. They had gone to work the next week and she had greeted him just as she usually did, as if nothing had changed between them. Afterwards, she had never said anything about the incident and Jack didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he hadn't mentioned it either. To this day he still wondered if her indifference was all just an act or if she really took the whole thing that coolly.

But aside from all that, Jack still had a responsibility to Sam. SG-1 was a team and of course that extended to the time they weren't in the field. Even if this situation hadn't been so directly his fault, he would still be obligated and happy to pitch in with whatever help he could give. And in this case, that rule had never applied more.

Now he just had to tell Sam that, and he definitely wasn't looking forward to seeing her again so soon. By now, having gotten over his initial shock and denial, he was aware that he had been none too receptive when she first broke the news. Jack cringed as his own words rang in his memory. _You're sure?_ For God's sake, he hadn't even believed her at first!

Now there was only one thing to do: apologize. He didn't anticipate that, but what was done was done and it wouldn't be resolved until one of them took the first step and that someone might as well be him, and better sooner than later.

Jack stood with a sigh and headed back toward the entrance of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

* * *

As they stopped before the door, Janet turned to Sam and said, "I'll be sure to catch up with you later about that appointment." Sam started to nod, but as soon as her friend opened the door, both women stopped short.

Standing there, looking more than a little apprehencious, was Jack O'Neill, fist raised and poised inches from where the door had been had been a moment ago, as if he had just worked up the courage to knock.

Sam blinked, feeling her cheeks redden, and thought of telling him to go away. She was still angry and didn't want to talk to him yet.

Jack let his own chocolate brown eyes flicker closed and then open again before lowering his hand to his side. For a long moment silence stretched between them. Finally, he turned to Janet and asked, "Doc, would it be all right if Carter and I talked alone for a moment?"

Janet nodded. "Of course; I have to leave now anyway." She glanced back at Sam, silently wishing her luck. "I'll see you later."

"See you," Sam echoed as her friend walked away. She turned back to her commanding officer, holding to the thought that she _did not want to talk to him_ _now_. But after her performance earlier she owed Jack enough to at least listen to what he had to say.

She hoped it was an apology.

* * *

When Janet had gone, Sam silently led the way back into the room, this time seating herself in the chair as Jack positioned himself on the bed after closing the door.

Sam sat back in the chair and surveyed her companion, trying to guess what he would say. Would he grovel and beg for forgiveness? Of course not; he wasn't like that. More likely than not he would stumble through some "Y'know, I'm really sorry" yadda yadda yadda thing and expect it to be over. Well, she wasn't going to let him get away that easily. Jack was the one who had gotten her pregnant after all, and he had to own up to his responsibilities.

_Whoa!_ Sam reigned herself back in. When had she started blaming Jack for all this? Sure he had had a part in it, but they had both acted irresponsibly and the fault belonged as much to her as it did to him.

Sam shook her head to clear these thoughts and looked up at her CO. "So, what have you got to say?"

Jack sighed. "Look, Carter, obviously you surprised me with this announcement. I'm sorry, but can you really blame me? Think about how you would feel if our situations were reversed."

"I guess I have to give you that one," Sam admitted. "I never really thought about it that way." But now she did. If she was a guy who had had a one-nighter with a girl who later came back to tell her that she was pregnant, she would be horrified too. Seeing as Jack really _was_ in that situation, she owed him a little bit of leeway until his initial emotions wore off. "I'm sorry, Colonel."

He waved the apology away. "Forget it. So, anyway, I've been thinking, and I've decided that since this is all my fault-"

"Sir-!"

"Please just let me finish," he interrupted. "Since this is my fault, I believe that it's my responsibility to help you with anything you might need."

"So, you..."

"Yeah, I agree that this is my child and I will help you and him."

Sam smiled softly, seeing that he had already decided his stand on the baby's gender, but only to hide her tears. She had known deep down that Jack would never abandon her, but still she was so relieved by his assurance that she would have cried if she didn't have something else to think about.

"So," Jack asked hesitantly, "what kinds of things are you going to want me to do?"

"I'm not sure what all it will be yet." She held out a hand in front of her to indicate a large belly. "But when I'm farther along I'm going to need someone to come stay with me and do things like keep the house clean, help with cooking, and drive me if I need to go somewhere."

"So pretty much what you're saying," Jack paraphrased, "is that I'm going to be your maid, chef, and chauffeur."

Sam grinned. "Yeah, that's pretty much it, sir."

"Wait," Jack said, waving his hands. "One more thing. If we're going have this slave-to-master relationship, I think we need to be on a first name basis, Sam. You know, outside of work."

Sam blinked; she couldn't remember a time that her commanding officer had ever called her anything besides "Carter" or her rank. "I suppose that would be a good idea."

"Call me Jack," he said.

"Okay, Jack," she replied. The name sounded strange when she said it deliberately and didn't let it slip out in anger as she had earlier, and she almost felt as if she had committed a small crime in calling her CO by his first name.

Jack must have seen her discomfort and agreed with it, because he said, "I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually."

"I suppose." It was then Sam realized that just because this was going on didn't mean that she was exempt from filing her report on last week's mission. She looked up at Jack and smiled. "Now that we're clear, I really need to go work on my report."

Jack nodded as they both stood up. "Yeah, me too." As they headed for the door, he asked, "Do you mind if I stop by your house tomorrow afternoon so we can do some more planning?"

Sam stopped outside the door and turned to face him. "Not at all; that would be great." She nodded, then turned and headed for her lab, glad that she and Jack had settled their differences.

* * *

Sitting before her computer a few minutes later, Sam could barely contain her glee. He had said yes, he would help her! She hoped it would be a good experience for them both.

But even though she had gotten over telling Jack and Janet about the baby, it seemed there were still so many people left. Teal'c, Daniel, General Hammond, and her own father and brother were still in the dark. Sam didn't relish revealing her secret to the first three, especially when they went through their "Who's the father?" stage. In fact, she downright dreaded talking to the General. He would demand to know who had fathered the child, she would have to tell him that it was Jack, and then they would both be in trouble.

According to military regulations, because Jack was her superior officer, he and Sam couldn't have a romantic relationship. Surely they would have to suffer the repercussions of their actions, but Sam hoped with all her heart that Jack wouldn't lose his job. She wouldn't mind if she had to leave, since she would eventually have to go on maternity leave anyway, but the Stargate Program was everything to Jack.

And speaking of telling people, she had forgotten to remind him not to tell anyone the news until they were both ready. She hoped he would have enough sense to figure that one out on his own.

* * *

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat in his office, still trying to digest all that had happened today. How quickly life could go from carefree and happy-go-lucky to unexpected and fraut with problems. And not just the obvious ones about how he would afford taking care of a baby and if he could keep his job, but the more personal issues of how he really felt about Samantha Carter and what they would do after the child was born.

This train of thought was cut off when the sound of footsteps heralded someone's entrance into the room. Jack knew the members of his team so well that he didn't even have to look up to identify his visitor. "What do you need, Daniel?" he asked without taking his eyes off of his computer screen.

The voice that answered confirmed his suspicions. "Ah, I was just wondering…" The doctor trailed off as if having second thoughts on what he had been about to say.

Jack turned around in the chair and regarded his teammate. "You were wondering," he supplied matter-of-factly, "what Carter wanted to talk to me about earlier."

"How'd you know that?"

"Trust me, Danny boy," Jack said. "I know these things."

"So?" He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Daniel," Jack answered as he swiveled back to the computer, "I don't really want to talk about it right now and I'm not sure that Carter would want me to discuss it either." He assumed that Sam would want to be with him when they told the rest of SG-1.

"Right. I was just wondering." But instead of leaving, Daniel stubbornly remained, as if thinking his CO would cave and tell him what had happened if he stayed long enough.

"You can go now," Jack said. "Have you finished your report yet?"

"Yeah, it's done."

"Well, mine isn't and I need to concentrate."

"Whatever you say, Jack."

As he began typing again, the colonel heard Daniel's footsteps retreat across the room and back into the hall. Jack sighed, glad to be alone again. Though it didn't always happen, he loved it when the members of his team obeyed him without question. He had come to realize shortly after arriving at the SGC that it was because they respected his authority as their leader.

Jack wondered how by-the-book Daniel and ever-respectful Teal'c would react to what he and Sam had to tell them.

* * *

**A/N:** So there you have it, Chapter 2. What did you think?


End file.
